Author: Caroline Olsen Van-Stone
Record-breaking heat during the Labor Day weekend caused many Occidental students to take refuge in the library and swimming pool, while many Eagle Rock residents lost power for two days. The Los Angeles Times reported on September 1 that 2,600 Eagle Rock residents did not have power on Friday and Saturday during that weekend.
The emergency generator only provides residence halls with 90 minutes of power and 10 main non-residence buildings with emergency exit lighting. The majority of the buildings on campus could have lost power. “We just got lucky this time,” Environmental Health and Safety Manager Bruce Steele said.
Newcomb, Braun and the common rooms of Norris are the only three residence halls on campus with air conditioning. However, due to high demand and age, the air conditioning system in Braun broke on Friday night and did not get repaired until Tuesday, when Housing Services and Facilities were informed of the problem.
Because of this, Housing Services received the majority of its complaints from parents of first-year residents who live in the air-conditioned residence halls on campus. “I was surprised we didn’t get more calls. This is just a testament to the strength of the first-year class, they stayed positive through this challenging situation,” Assistant Director for Residence Life Amanda Atkinson said.
Director of Communication James Tranquada sent an e-mail to the Occidental community on Friday, August 30 urging students to conserve energy by turning off lights and unplugging charging computers.
“I saw a lot of resourceful and innovative strategies for escaping the heat, but there were also some students who had the air conditioner on and opened windows. You just need to be smart about things,” Steele said.
Campus Safety found several students sleeping on Stewie Beach on Monday morning. “Camping out is a great way to avoid the heat, but we did keep an eye on them,” Campus Safety Lieutenant Joseph Cunje said.
Some students resorted to sleeping in the library, whether deliberately or not. “About ten of my friends and I took our sheets and pillows to the library to sleep,” Kay Ambriz (first-year) said. One library assistant helped students take advantage of the air-conditioned haven. “I encouraged students to sleep in the library-it’s open 24 hours and it’s air-conditioned,” Ryan Cassutt (senior) said. “I am just glad the library was available to them,” Cunje said.
Many students stayed at Oxy, but had a strategy. “My solution was: as little motion as possible, and lots of water,” Lauren Bunnell (first-year) said. “I went to Target to get another fan, but they were sold out,” Michael Mahoney (first-year) said.
Some students left Occidental entirely. “I took on more hours at work,” Sonya Reese (senior) said. “I work at a hospital, so it’s always cold there.” Malls also provided cool havens for students. “I went to the Santa Anita shopping center and it was really crowded. It looks like everyone had the same idea,” Aquina Aiga (first-year) said.
A few students noted their relative privilege. “I am thankful that Occidental didn’t lose power, but I think most people didn’t realize that Eagle Rock did,” Amber Penland (junior) said.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power reported that almost 30,000 electricity customers were without power during the five-day heat wave. Though this number accounts for only 2 percent of the LADWP’s 1.4 million electricity customers, President of the Board David Nahai was not celebrating. “I would be the first to say that the department has not done enough,” he said. “We’ve had two successive years of intense heat waves, and we have to accept that climate change is a reality. Our infrastructure is old and tired, and much of it is between 40 to 70 years old.”
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